Evan Herman celebrates his second period goal against the Lethbridge Hurricanes. (Submitted Photo/Mark Peterson Media)

By Rob Mahon

Chaika Stifles Hurricanes

Chaika holds the line as Raiders outlast Lethbridge

Feb 13, 2022 | 1:38 PM

The points in the standings won’t say anything about the Prince Albert Raiders being outshot, nor about the relentless forecheck of the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

All they’ll say is that the Raiders took two hugely important points from a team fighting for the same playoff spot as them.

Tikhon Chaika stopped 44 of 46 shots he faced, while Evan Herman, Reece Vitelli, and Carson Latimer all scored as the Raiders downed Lethbridge 3-2. Sloan Stanick also picked up two assists, while Jett Jones and Joe Arntsen supplied the goals for the Hurricanes.

Due in part to two Lethbridge power plays but more to their relentless attack, the Hurricanes held a 16-5 shot advantage after the first. The score, however, remained square at zero as Chaika stood tall in the Raiders’ net. It bought his team the time they needed to open the scoring, and early in the second period, Herman did just that, driving into the zone and trying to send a pass back door to Latimer, only to have it bounce in off a Lethbridge defender’s stick.

Not long after, Vitelli got in on the act with his second goal in as many games. Stanick won a puck battle to the left of the Hurricane cage and fed it out to the Raiders’ captain, who wired home his 16^th of the season.

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Lethbridge pushed back relentlessly from there, however, tying the score with two quick goals of their own. First, Arntsen jumped into the rush and made a slap-pass to Jones as he drove the net, tapping in a backhand. Then, off a goal-mouth scramble, the puck popped out to the top of the zone, giving Arntsen all kinds of room to walk into a heavy shot that bounced off a leg and past Chaika.

With time on the power play, including a 4-on-3, Lethbridge continued to build up shots on goal, but they couldn’t solve Chaika again. At the other end, Stanick won another puck battle and fed it out front to Latimer (who had hit a crossbar moments earlier off the rush) and the speedy winger made no mistake in tight, stepping to his right and lifting the puck past Bryan Thomson for what proved to be the game winning goal.

With the win under their belt, the Raiders take a breather and get ready for another critical game in the standings on Friday, Feb. 18 as they host the Regina Pats. Puck drop in that game is 7:00 on CKBI.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP